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Gregory Toppe (guest)
CA:

Dear Mr. Conda,
Your column perfectly illustrated why I am no longer a Republican. How you can criticize the Democrats for deficit spending with any level of seriousness is beyond comprehension. In December of 2000, the eve of Bush's inauguration, the country had a $3.385 trillion in national debt outstanding. As of December 2008, the debt stood at $6.361 trillion, a disgustingly large increase created by greater spending and tax cuts during a time in which six of the eight years saw economic expansion. Who are you kidding when you talk of forcing congress to live within its means?
Further, you recommend additional tax cuts with no insight as to where the corresponding budget cuts will come from. I have no doubt some will come from eliminating wasteful spending like bridges to nowhere but that will only get us so far. Maybe you want to tackle entitlements like Medicare Part D.
Meaningful improvements come from meaningful ideas put into action. You, and the Republican Party, offer empty dogma with a history of hypocritical actions.

Richard Heinrich (guest)
IL:

I guess that Dana Perino missed the message that the head of the Republican Party has been spewing, there is no need to be vaccinated, it's a sham.
Dana, how can you with a straight face blame the administration for the vaccine production delays, when it is private industry that controls the production and supply?
I thought that the Republican Party was all for the sanctity of the free market system? The administration is paying for the vaccine, but the production is handled (as it should be) by the Pharmaceutical Industry. Would Dana Perino have the government take over the Vaccine production? If the administration was actually producing the vaccine, then the criticism would be well founded, but last time I looked, neither the Federal or State Governments had the resources to produce the vaccines.
It is interesting, as another guest poster has pointed out, that the harshest criticisms are coming from former members of the administration that gave us the statement "you're doing a heck of a job Brownie" when they dropped the ball on Katrina. There is a Yiddish word for that and it's "Chutzpah".

Ralph M (guest)
FL:

Funy how the comparisons used here are so deceptive. It is true that "natural events" are vastly beyond the powers of any administration, but we are not asking Obama, or any other administration to save the world magically or accomplish the impossible. As these examples have been used, I'll continue with them.
The problem under Katrina was that Bush didn't act for far too long, was extremely slow when he eventually started, and made efforts that were way short of reasonable - not to mention the credentials of the person he appointed to handle it; a horse show expert!!!
As for Obama, he has done all that could possibly be done. Short of taking over pharma to force them to focus more efforts than they could afford to make more vacine, there is nothing else that could have been done. But even that would not have made tghe process faster. The administrations has been consistent all science/knowledge on the subject, and it has invested all the resources that were available in a very timely manner.
My wife, my child, my mother and my nieces have all been vacinated about 10 days ago. I got the FLU last week. I aways have the FLU and this time I am sure it was N1H1, because it had unusual simptoms levels, range and timing.

Brian Zacharias (guest)
VA:

This is a public health issue, not a political one. Obama can't be blamed for the current shortage of H1N1 vaccine because it has occurred for reasons outside of his control. There is a limited capacity that the manufactures can produce the vaccine and Obama has to deal with it the best he can. It is unfortunate that some will try to politicize this issue.

Bruce Blevins (guest)
MN:

The pandemic deniers of a few months ago now want to know why we have not done more. The stimulus deniers want to know why the stimulus bill has not done more. The global warming deniers will eventually want to know why we did not do more.Actually the six month turnaround from flu strain to vaccine is pretty good. I also agree with Patrick Northway regarding the cooperation or lack thereof from the drug producers. We should also be questioning the factory farm practices that contribute directly to the formation of these types of pathogens. Raising animals in conditions that lead to virus production and then feeding them antibiotics seems like a formula for the worst type of zooological diseases.Money is at the root of all these bad practices as always.Deregulated free markets run amok.

Ken Ihrig (guest)
TX:

Greg Dworkin I think you missed Dana's point when she said "if this had been the Bush administration...,"... It is worth nothing that back in 2004 when a major manufacturer of the flu vaccine had their license suspended it caused a shortage of the flu vacine in the US. At that time blame was put squarely on President Bush by Congress and the media. Now we have major shortages of the H1N1 vaccine and yet there is virtually no mention of President Obama's role.

R. Alan Smith (guest)
CA:

The President has fallen into the trap that so many before him have fallen into: believing that an abundance of good intentions and a change in management is all it takes to get the job done. We all know what road is paved with good intentions. The President's PR machine has done a fine job of whipping the public into a frenzy over H1N1 - perhaps necessarily so. But PR is a two-edged sword: the same bright light of media attention illuminates deficiencies in planning and executing a strategy to deal with a potential crisis. Clearly the President and his team have over-estimated their smarts at figuring out what needed to be done, and has under-estimated the enormity of the task. It’s not a problem unique to Obama. But he’s the man standing in the center of the arena and the spotlight is on him. He is learning, perhaps too late, that it is a fool’s errand for politicians to think they can outsmart microbes and viruses. They were here before us and they’ll be here long after we’re gone. - R. ALAN SMITH, Momentum Strategist and Executive Coach for Political Leaders and Senior Executives.

Pam Gillespie (guest)
PA:

The discussion regarding the H1N1 flu should not be along the tiresome partisan divide that seems to drive every conversation in this country. From all the medical personnel I've seen interviewed and the reading I've done, it appears that the virus is very slow growing and I do not understand how that has anything to do with President Obama or the US Health Department. This is not a "ball being dropped" issue. It's simply a matter of science (which as we all know is something the Bush Administration had very little respect towards). Let's get off the Administration's back about this and focus on the things that are much more important, such as why the efforts by first Bush and later Obama have been focused towards Wall Street, AIG and the automakers instead of the middle class in revitalizing our economy. It would be nice for Republicans, including past Bush Administration members, to turn the conversation into something constructive instead of constantly attacking this administration. It appears to independents like myself that if Obama or anyone in his Administration said the sky was blue, there would be an ex-Bush official arguing it wasn't.

John Crone (guest)
CA:

I presume no one remembers that the republicans voted no in june when a bill came up to fund an increase in production of h1n1 flu vaccine!!!!!!

Z. Julia Paton (guest)
CA:

Everyone has dropped the ball on the swine flu vaccine. In the City of Ottawa, capital of Canada and home of "ideal" and "free" health care, it is very difficult to get the H1N1 vaccine. Ottawa has over one million inhabitants. At present, it has five vaccination centers and 12 mobile units trying to vaccinate all of these people. And there is a huge demand because very healthy teenagers and young people have died of the flu within 24 hours. Mind you, a very small number of people have died. At present, hundreds of people await the opening of these centers since very early in the morning, and they might close right away because they know that is all they can handle for the day. Waiting time is in the hours. Family doctors who had assured their patients that they would make the vaccine available to them, do not have it because the health care system has not provided it to these physicians. Pharmacies, who in the past had flu vaccines available, do not have and many other places who had it in the past also do not have it. Your readers might be interested in knowing that there is a homeopathic version of this vaccine; you may want to try that is you believe in this kind of medicine.

Reuel Castillo (guest)
CA:

I find it interesting that Dana Pierino (sp? No disrespect) is quick to accuse the Obama Administration of missteps. Weren't the consrvatives and GOP blasting Obama this spring for exaggerating the impact the Swine Flu would have? That he was just making another 'crisis' for political gain? And now in October it's the President's fault for not taking care of this quickly enough? Sorry but it doesn't work both ways, and knee-jerk opposition to everything creates these kinds of connundrums. The government shouldn't intervene in people's lives. Except when it should? The government shouldn't get involved in the Health Care industry except when the government needs to lend a hand in curing potentially dangerous illnesses?
I think that the vaccine shortages of this month will be corrected by next month. Since the new strain was only discovered this year and the fact we've developed a workable vaccine at all in just a few months is a credit to the speed at which medical science is working to address this. But i honestly don't think most Americans look at this as a political issue. They just want to make sure their kids and loved ones don't get sick.

Robert Maynes (guest)
ME:

Hmmm... shutting down the voice of the opposition. Apparently, Redskin management is taking a page from the Administration's book.

Patrick Northway (guest)
IN:

Unprepared for the Flu? In the greatest Nation on Earth with the greatest health care system in the World, most of which is managed by the PRIVATE sector? If Obama had ordered the DOD to INVADE the drug manufacturers, he still couldn't have gotten enough flu vaccine out there in time. WHY? Drug companies aren't interested in you getting better, their priority is expensive new drugs that may or may not work that they can hold patents on and charge through the nose until the generic equivalent comes along, if it ever does. Vaccines are not a priority; Antibiotics are not a priority; Making people healthy is not a priority. Making lots and lots of money is.
The PRIVATE SECTOR, not government, is SOLELY at fault here. Their priorities, driven by greed and a profit only mentality are, like the financial sector, putting the entire Country at risk. Protected by politicians, primarily Republicans, under the guise of "Free Market" principles, drug companies have trashed oversight, regulation, and any other impediment to selling drugs like a Mexican Cartel. The FDA? HA! What's in Your pocket? How many drugs have been approved that are not just ineffective but downright deadly? The drug companies ARE drug dealers, nothing more or less.

Fred Vannucci (guest)
TN:

I wrote a piece about the Redskins on my site last week after it was announced they had elevated Sherman Lewis - initially hired to serve as an "offensive consultant" to head coach Jim Zorn - to, in effect, take over the offensive coordinator role.
Washington has routinely delved into the free agent market, spending millions on players that ultimately have done very little to help the team. It's not a coincidence that Snyder's inability to find a head coach (six since he purchased the team in 1997) and the team's infrequent playoff berths (three since '97) have left the once proud Redskins floundering.
However, despite the team's poor play, the Redskins remain viable. Washington is the NFL's second-most valuable franchise with a net worth of $1.55 billion. That figure puts the Redskins into the top three of the most valuable sports franchises in the world, trailing only Manchester United and the Dallas Cowboys. As of Monday's game, they are second in home game attendance with an average of 84,588 - down 4,016 from last year's average but still very strong.
As long as fans continue to pack FedEx Field and the value of the franchise continues to grow, Snyder is going to follow the same path - and why wouldn't he?

Phil Gonzalez (guest)
TX:

Act together? How about having to play catch up When the flu was just in Mexico there was no sound for alarm. Stop making a mountain out of mole. This administration is the only ones who can create a crisis. Instead of preparing, this administration got caught sleeping at the helm. That's twice this administration has put the safety of Americans on the to do list for political reasons.The first is dithering in sending Gen. McChrystal more troops. This administration is proving on a daily bases a big difference in what they will do for American's and to American's. The vaccine and how it's administered should serve as a good example how the government is going to handle government health care Right off the bat, the first thing the government said is that there was going to be rationing the vaccine. The next if doctors needed space in the hospitals they were to disconnect those terminally ill on life support to make room for the victims of the flu. It seems those things the Town Halls were concerned about were confirmed by the government. Does rationing and death panels ring a bell. The arrival of the flu was the perfect time for the government to show it could handle health care without a villain and profit to attack.

Jeff Arn (guest)
TN:

Obama's kids did not receive the vaccine until AFTER a news story came out about health care and military personnel being REQUIRED to receive the h1n1 vaccine. As far as having their "act together" This admin has not had its act together about any topic thus far. Our highest level of government is so far out of touch with "normal" living and life, they are completely incapable of correctly acting on our behalf.
What will we do?
Our government is too big and corrupt to fix.
What will we do?

Al Delaney (guest)
TX:

It’s sickening hearing the right-wing pundits first attack the administration suggesting not enough testing was being done on the H1N1 vaccine and then complaining that it wasn’t rolled out quickly enough.
Rather than manufacture a political controversy where there isn’t one, those pundits should being doing the public service of informing about the facts. 1) The vaccine was manufactured and tested just like the seasonal vaccine was. 2) It takes approximately 6 months to manufacture and test vaccines before they begin to be available. 3) This mutated strain of last falls swine flu was not able to be characterized until last April which means October is when we should see the vaccine first become available. That is what has happened. It has nothing to do with Republicans or Democrats. It has everything to do with science.

Terry Santiago (guest)
NY:

Dana,
As we all remember the Bush Admiministration did so much to prevents from happening like their so very rapid response to Katrina what it only took them five days to get to the city after the storm hit. Not to mention they had weeks notice even before that. I find it odd that the worst administration in the history of this country's press secretary and Vice President has so much of an opinion after they've left off. Obama's administration hasn't dropped the ball on anything, they've done something that the Bush administration never did, "THINK". Had the Bush administration thought about things such as the Iraq War, Handling of Afghanistan, Katrina, the Economy, instead of when his next vacation was. Things would probably be on a better course than they are now. There also would probably be a Republican in the White House, BUT, there isn't Americans voted for Obama because he wasn't Bush, in the sense that he actually thinks. Maybe you and Dick Cheney need to actually sit it out for a little while in order for the Republican party to rebuild. Because as long as you too are in the spot light it only reminds Americans of why they didn't vote Republican in this year's election. That is just my suggestion to you and Dick, Dana

Randy Minton (guest)
GA:

If the Bush administration was marked as inept in its handling of the Katrina catastrophe, which by any definition was a Mother Nature disaster in the extreme, how should we grade the Obama administration on this Mother Nature event? Given the population and the available doses of vaccine, the Obama administration must be inept to the nth degree.
The truth in both cases is that the government for all its power is still limited by practical realities, such as flooded city streets and vaccine production capacity, but as long as "gottcha" politics prevail in this country, those limitations will be ignored in the interest of finding someone in the other party to scapegoat.

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